Parapsychology
In 1889, the German philosopher Max Dessoir coined a new word to describe the study of mental phenomena that lay beyond standard psychology. He called it parapsychology, combining the Greek prefix para meaning alongside with the word psychology. The term sat quietly in academic circles for decades until J. B. Rhine adopted it in the 1930s. Rhine needed a fresh label to replace psychical research and signal a shift toward laboratory experiments rather than anecdotal reports. He wanted to move the field away from spiritualist séances and into the realm of statistical analysis. The Parapsychological Association later divided psi into two categories: psi-gamma for extrasensory perception and psi-kappa for psychokinesis. Biologist Bertold Wiesner coined the symbol psi itself, which psychologist Robert Thouless first used in a 1942 article published in the British Journal of Psychology. Popular culture eventually turned psi into a synonym for extraordinary psychic powers found in science fiction novels and movies.
Chemist Robert Hare conducted experiments with mediums in 1853 and reported positive results that suggested spirits could communicate through physical objects. Critics like Frank Podmore highlighted flaws in his work, noting a lack of controls to prevent trickery. Agenor de Gasparin ran table-tipping experiments for five months in 1853 and declared them successful due to an ectenic force. Skeptics pointed out that sitters might have moved tables with their knees while no one watched above or below the surface. German astrophysicist Johann Karl Friedrich Zöllner tested medium Henry Slade in 1877 and wrote a book praising Slade's abilities. Slade succeeded only on tests allowing easy trickery such as producing knots in cords with tied ends. He failed utterly on rigorous tests that did not permit deception like reversing snail shell spirals. The Society for Psychical Research formed in London in 1882 to organize scientists investigating these claims. Early members included philosophers, scholars, and Nobel Laureate Charles Richet who studied telepathy and apparitions. In 1894 the Census of Hallucinations sampled 17,000 people and found 1,684 admitted seeing apparitions. Eleanor Sidgwick revealed fraudulent methods used by spirit photographers Édouard Isidore Buguet and William H. Mumler in 1881.
Stanford University became the first American institution to study extrasensory perception in a laboratory setting in 1911 under psychologist John Edgar Coover. After conducting approximately 10,000 experiments Coover concluded statistical treatments failed to reveal any cause beyond chance. Duke University followed in 1930 by engaging psychologists Karl Zener and Joseph B. Rhine to run card-guessing experiments. Rhine developed a system using five possible symbols where subjects guessed which symbol appeared on cards. A percentage of correct guesses significantly above 20 percent was seen as evidence of psychic ability. Rhine stated after 90,000 trials that ESP was an actual and demonstrable occurrence. Irish medium Eileen J. Garrett tested poorly with Zener cards at Duke in 1933 but later claimed the cards lacked psychic energy stimulus. Samuel Soal recorded over 12,000 guesses for Garrett in May 1937 but found no confirmation of her powers. Critics discovered sensory leakage could account for all Rhine's results because subjects read symbols from cheaply printed card backs. Subjects also saw card faces reflected in the tester's eyeglasses or picked up clues from facial expressions. Milbourne Christopher noted at least a dozen ways a subject could deceive investigators under Rhine's conditions. When Rhine added precautions against cheating he failed to find high-scoring subjects again.
The Central Intelligence Agency began extensive research into behavioral engineering in the early 1950s leading to the Stargate Project. This program handled extrasensory perception research for the U.S. federal government until its termination in 1995. Reviewers concluded the project never provided actionable intelligence value despite years of investment. Information gathered was often vague containing irrelevant and erroneous data that offered little practical use. Investigators suspected managers adjusted reports to fit known background cues rather than relying on genuine remote viewing abilities. Physicist Russell Targ coined the term remote viewing in 1974 during work at Stanford Research Institute. David Marks and Richard Kammann attempted to replicate Targ's experiments in the 1970s but failed to reproduce results. They found notes given to judges contained clues about session order such as dates written at page tops. Marks achieved 100 percent accuracy without visiting sites by using these environmental cues alone. James Randi conducted controlled tests eliminating cueing sources and produced negative results. Students solved Puthoff and Targ locations from cues included in transcripts released in July 1985. The Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research Laboratory closed in February 2007 after 28 years of study.
The Ganzfeld technique uses moderate sensory deprivation to test individuals for telepathy by providing mild unpatterned stimuli. Visual isolation occurs through soft red glow diffused via half ping-pong balls placed over recipient eyes while white noise blocks auditory input. Receivers sit reclined in comfortable positions to minimize touch sensations during twenty to forty minute sending periods. Experimenters ask receivers to speak aloud mental processes including images thoughts and feelings throughout the session. At period end receivers select one target image from four options containing three decoys. Ray Hyman discovered flaws in all 42 Ganzfeld studies examined regarding statistical defects and procedural issues like inadequate randomization. Over half failed to safeguard against sensory leakage allowing receivers to hear events in sender rooms next door. Lance Storm Patrizio Tressoldi and Lorenzo Di Risio analyzed 29 Ganzfeld studies from 1997 to 2008 finding a hit rate of 32.2 percent. Critics argue reliance on meta-analysis distorts confirmatory evidence since independent replication remains absent. Random number generator experiments use electronic or radioactive noise to produce data streams subjects attempt to mentally alter. Major meta-analyses published every few years claim tiny statistical deviations from chance over large trial numbers. Two German groups failed to replicate Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research Laboratory results suggesting nothing existed to replicate.
The scientific consensus holds insufficient evidence supports existence of psi phenomena despite over a century of investigation. The U.S. National Academy of Sciences published a report in 1988 concluding no scientific justification exists for parapsychological phenomena after 130 years. Scientists state extraordinary claims demand extraordinary evidence yet the entire body of evidence remains poor quality and inadequately controlled. Instances of fraud flawed studies and cognitive biases explain most reported results according to critics like Ray Hyman. Data from Creery sister Soal-Goldney experiments proved fraudulent while Smith-Blackburn subjects confessed to deception. John Edgar Coover Joseph Gaither Pratt and Helmut Schmidt conducted experiments with design flaws allowing sensory cues. Parapsychologists admit impossible elimination of non-paranormal causes leaving no independent method indicating presence or absence of psi. Persi Diaconis noted controls often loose permitting subject cheating and unconscious sensory cues. Physics professor Michael W. Friedlander stated parapsychology failed produce clear evidence requiring beyond known science region. Philosopher Robert Todd Carroll characterized research as deception fraud and incompetence setting up properly controlled experiments. Skeptics cite lack of theory as reason rejecting field since phenomena remain unconvincingly demonstrated. James Alcock claimed parapsychologists never take seriously possibility psi does not exist interpreting null results as observation failure rather than support for null hypothesis.
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Common questions
Who coined the term parapsychology and when was it created?
German philosopher Max Dessoir coined the word parapsychology in 1889. He combined the Greek prefix para meaning alongside with the word psychology to describe mental phenomena beyond standard psychology.
When did J.B. Rhine adopt the term parapsychology for his research at Duke University?
J. B. Rhine adopted the term parapsychology in the 1930s while working at Duke University. He used this label to replace psychical research and signal a shift toward laboratory experiments rather than anecdotal reports.
What were the results of the Central Intelligence Agency Stargate Project on remote viewing?
Reviewers concluded the Stargate Project never provided actionable intelligence value despite years of investment from the early 1950s until its termination in 1995. Information gathered was often vague containing irrelevant and erroneous data that offered little practical use.
Why did critics reject the Ganzfeld technique studies conducted between 1997 and 2008?
Critics argue reliance on meta-analysis distorts confirmatory evidence since independent replication remains absent. Lance Storm Patrizio Tressoldi and Lorenzo Di Risio analyzed 29 Ganzfeld studies finding a hit rate of 32.2 percent but noted flaws like inadequate randomization and sensory leakage.
What conclusion did the U.S. National Academy of Sciences reach about parapsychological phenomena in 1988?
The U.S. National Academy of Sciences published a report in 1988 concluding no scientific justification exists for parapsychological phenomena after 130 years. Scientists state extraordinary claims demand extraordinary evidence yet the entire body of evidence remains poor quality and inadequately controlled.